777 Monarch and Subjec (1/2)

On noon of the seventh day, Ye Qingxuan saw a dark outline appear on the horizon. The dense pack of pedestrians and carriages walked on both sides of the dirt road, regarding the figure curiously.

The Empire of Aurora's traffic was structured better than Ye Qingxuan would have thought. There was a courier station every 50 miles. The roads were wide, with more than enough room for five carriages. And the roads were flat, with some places even being paved with slab stones. There were no shortcomings other than the fact that an average person could not walk on it.

Even in the prosperous parts of the country the road was still empty as the flow of people wound around both sides of it.

They came and went just like they were making a visit.

When they saw Ye Qingxuan's white hair, they looked away in respect. For some reason, some people pointed fingers at Bai Heng riding in the prison cart from afar, unsure if that was the regent who had once had power over the court and the commons, and unsure of what had happened to him.

The news of Bai Heng's surrender had been nearly sealed off. They had remained vigilant, and only a few people knew who it was that had come here.

The Ninth Heaven Tower was in sight.

Outside the capital was already a dazzlingly prosperous area. It would be better to say that the people and structures there surpassed expectations and were not ordinary in the least.

The people coming and going on the street were mostly black-haired. They rarely saw a noble of the Dragon Bloodlines.

The closer they got, the stronger Ye Qingxuan's heartbeat became.

It was not until they reached Baizhang Gate that he remembered the familiar feeling within his tingling sensation.

”Is this feeling?” Bai Heng smiled at him. Up until now, Ye Qingxuan had not realized why there were so many people outside the city. It wasn't that they liked being outside, they just couldn't be inside.

The Iron of Decay.

Ye Qingxuan felt the tingling sensation of the Iron of Decay. Even though the city gate was still far away, the feeling was still clear enough. For the citizens of the Empire of Aurora, their ability to resist the Iron of Decay was far less than that of nobles of the Dragon Bloodlines, and there were limits to it.

Even within the city, the citizens probably wouldn't go as far as the central city.

In the centuries of rule by the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline, although there had been eras of wisdom and honesty, there had been no shortage of tyranny and stupidity. It wasn't that the common folk had never resisted, but the ones controlling everything had after all been the nobles of the dragon bloodline.

Ordinary citizens who stepped through the palace gates might as well arrange their funeral affairs, not to mention those who tried to sit on the throne. Even with tens of thousands of troops, it would be no use if they could not enter the capital.

Moreover, the defensive troops and palace servants almost all had deva ancestry, and had inherited something from their ancestors to some extent. In the face of devas who held ultimate power, tens of thousands of soldiers were nothing more than mud chickens and clay dogs.

The nearly infinite Iron of Decay guarded the control and secrets of the Devas. It was a highly toxic substance to others. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt as carefree as a stranded fish placed back into water.

It was like a traveller who had been parched by the dry desert wind had returned to his home by the sea.

And there was something else that brightened his mood that had been dark and gloomy for the past few days.

She was here.

Ye Qingxuan rode through the corridor under the gate, and stared at the palace in the distance.

Bai Xi was here.

After being apart for so long, he did not know how she was doing now.

He was suddenly a little flustered. He didn't know how Bai Xi was. He didn't know if she was okay or not. He didn't know what he should say after he saw her.

Soon his thoughts were interrupted.

Behind him, the eunuch he had greeted that morning covered the prison cart in white silk, and another person walked up.

”Please allow me to escort you the rest of the way and then we can report back to the palace.” He bowed respectuflly. ”Tomorrow Her Majesty is holding a welcome feast for you at Changle Palace, and she invites you to stay the night.”

Ye Qingxuan looked at him silently. He said nothing.

The eunuch's smile stiffened, and he bowed a few degrees lower. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground.

”These days there are some things that I want to understand, and I'm growing tired of Her Majesty.” Ye Qingxuan looked at him from on the horse. ”I helped her hold Heaven's Gate, helped her bring Bai Heng back. I've shown her respect, and I hope she can do the same to me. So, go back and tell her that I don't have time to wait until tomorrow. This evening. If I don't see Bai Xi this evening, I'll go to the palace to find her myself.”

The eunuch kneeled. He got ready to say something, but Ye Qingxuan turned the horse by the reins and left.

After an hour, a eunuch bearing an imperial order rushed to Ye Qingxuan's residence and knocked on the door.”

Ye Qingxuan got an answer that was satisfactory to him.

”This evening...”

Ye Qingxuan lay back in his bed and stared at the outline of the palace outside his window. He unconsciously rubbed his thumb against his forefinger on the mark that the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had left behind. For some reason he had suddenly felt relief. He was glad that he still had a bit of time.

Time enough to let him think about it in detail...

What should he say when he saw her?

…

In the depths of the palace, amidst the pagodas and pavilions, a eunuch stepped out of the inner chambers and stepped on to the jade steps. He announced the man who was kneeling down, ”Presenting Bai Heng, Your Majesty.”

Below the steps, Bai Heng, who was held by Jin Wuwei, did not move. He seemed not to hear. He just kept his head down and looked at the shackles around his wrists. He raised his brow slightly.

After a moment of silence, the eunuch pointed at the shackles and ordered Jin Wuwei, ”Get rid of those unsightly things.”